Christine 15

At a time where waves of clickbait journalism fight for space among the social networks, there is something uncanny about the rise of sensationalist press across 70s America. Two films have been released in the last year about the life of journalist Christine Chubbuck: Campos’ Christine and the documentary Kate Plays Christine by Robert Greene, about an actor trying preparing for the role of the reporter.

Christine follows the increased focus on media scandal at the Sarasota station Chubbuck worked for: to keep the viewers tuning in, the station manager pushes for exploitative “crisis” stories. For Chubbuck, this is a move too far from the issue-driven human interest pieces she wants to pursue but to keep her job and hopefully gain a promotion in a field dominated by men, she makes the decision to go along with his requests. Campos’ biopic offers a sympathetic portrayal of a woman seen as cold and unapproachable by those around her, carefully teasing out incidents from her private life alongside those in front of the camera.